Whereas I figured that out because I saw Jack Coleman's name in the guest credits. Kind of a major spoiler there. I was just thinking last night about how many different characters named Simmons have been on TV recently, including those two. There's also Jemma Simmons on Agents of SHIELD.
Man, that union rule of listing all the guest stars in the opening credits has ruined a lot of surprises.
It's not an absolute rule; sometimes actors agree to waive a listing in the opening credits in order to preserve the secret of their appearance (although they're usually listed right at the start of the end credits). But that would probably entail either the actor (and their agent) being willing to settle for less money or the producers being willing to pay them more to compensate, and the people involved aren't always able to come to an accommodation.
That's why I'm glad I just know him as "That guy from Heroes" so I wasn't spoiled by knowing his name.
I usually don't pay attention to the credits that much, but even if I had in this case I wouldn't have recognized his name.
I usually ignore the credits (I'm tryin' to watch the show, dammit! ). Then when I see someone I recognize and go "Hey look! It's That Guy!" my wife will smugly say "Yeah, his name was in the credits, didn't you see?" Then I have tell her that if she ever expects me to untie her or take her down from the wall, she'd better knock that shit off.
Hey, what you guys do in your own home... It's the reverse for me. I'm the one who recognizes all the Vancouver-based or familiar actor names in the credits and has to keep my trap shut for when we recognize them from another show. Otherwise, she ties ME to the wall. Mark
That's awesome Mark and Forbin...yeah we're 30 seconds into the guest credits and I turn to my wife and say YEAH THAT SENATOR THAT KILLED BECKS MOM IS THE ONE BEHIND ALL THIS.
Because Beckett can't prove anything and despite his horrible acts he has a kinda personal honor that compelled him to repay his debt to Beckett. Beckett can't act unless she has undeniable proof because as soon as she goes after him publicly she will be questioned about motif and then her mother's case will be dragged into this making her a biased investigator which may instantly shut down any case.
And of course there's no actual evidence linking Bracken to the Future Forward PAC -- Ryan and Esposito were pretty clear that they had no way of finding out which politician it was connected to. Beckett has just made an educated guess that Bracken is the one behind it.
Just saw the episode today. Spoiler: Lazarus Who was the guy they sent Beckett to kill? Obviously she didn't kill him, but did fire 2 shots inside the house. He definitely owes her one. That's who I immediately thought of when Elena said Lazarus sent her. Now that Beckett thinks it's the senator dude, it would definitely be a twist it if were the other guy.
No, the target was just an accountant who helped set up the political fund that laundered the drug money. He was a minor functionary, a loose end to be tied off.
This episode was probably the best of the worst ones from this season. The elements of the story were fun, but the story itself was a pretty weak. Beckett was completely out of character worrying about meeting her old High School friend; that was some of the worst filler they've had this season. I always enjoy seeing Pearlmutter though, he makes a good foil for Castle.